John Bell, Wil Johnson Join “Outlander” S3

Young actor John Bell (“The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies”) will play a young Ian Murray and Wil Johnson (“Waking the Dead”) will play Joe Abernathy in the upcoming third season of Starz’s “Outlander”.

Said to be pivotal roles, Murray is the trouble-seeking Scottish nephew of co-lead Jamie Fraser (Sam Heughan) in the 18th century scenes, while Abernathy is the wry doctor-in-training whom befriends Claire (Caitriona Balfe) in medical school in 20th century Boston.

The new season is based on “Voyager,” the third novel in Diana Gabaldon’s bestselling series and picks up right after Claire travels through the stones to return to her life in 1948. Now pregnant, she struggles with the fallout of her sudden reappearance and its effect on her marriage to her first husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies).

In the 18th century, Jamie suffers from the aftermath of his doomed last stand at the historic battle of Culloden, as well as the loss of Claire. As the years pass, Jamie and Claire attempt to make a life apart from one another, each haunted by the memory of their lost love.